TEMA

Category: Vol. 5 N. 1 (2019)

  • The refurbishment of of prefabricated residential buildings in socialist countries (1954-1970): methodological criteria and social perspectives

    Abstract

     

    Prefabrication was the instrument by which European countries, both the Eastern and the Western countries, sought to cope with the growing demand for housing after the Second World War. In the Soviet Union and the socialist countries, this choice is closely linked to the construction of the communist society.
    The paper analyzes the housing and construction models developed in the Soviet Union in the late 1950s and subsequently exported to Eastern Bloc countries, focusing on the Albanian case study. The survey aims to define the main characteristics of the buildings with these systems, in terms of seismic resistance and energy performance.

  • Rebuilt the space using stone or brick vaulted systems: catching the contemporary challenge of construction tradition

    Abstract

     

    In the recovery and restoration sites, as well as in the versatile word of university research about construction history, it’s not infrequent to study stereotomy for the re-proposal of stony or tiled vaulted systems, sometimes complex for their constitutive geometry, equipment, preliminary/subsidiary carpentry works. It represents a didactic study-key also in Engineering and Architecture Schools, through laboratories that teach to future designers a “know-how” that can be easily spent in their professional repercussions.

  • Mapping and monitoring building decay patterns by photomodelling based 3D models

    Abstract

     

    A framework is presented for the evaluation and diagnosis of the state of conservation of the built heritage, based on the use of virtual immersive environments and three-dimensional models, as essential tools for the analysis and correlation of diagnostic data. Thus, some early studies are presented on the application of image processing routines that might extract from the point clouds some relevant information toward the semi-automated control of cracking patterns and surface alterations in heritage buildings

  • “Reconstructive re-drawings” and “reconstructive models” for history of construction. The experience of SIXXI research

    Abstract

     

    During the SIXXI research (“XX Century Structural Engineering: the Italian Contribution”, ERC Adv Grant, PI: Sergio Poretti, Tullia Iori) special study tools supported historical surveys on works. The experimentation on tools became an autonomous research topic, developing itself from the “reconstructive re-drawing”, pioneered by Poretti in the mid 1980s, up to 3D modelling and 3D printing. This paper resumes briefly its starting and illustrates most recent outcomes, as a board field of research in Construction and Structural engineering History.

  • A cognitive approach for improving built environment and users’ safety in emergency conditions

    Abstract

     

    Cognitive Systems can be applied in architectural spaces to improve Built Environment performances basing on users’ needs. They can: 1) jointly monitor environmental conditions and human behaviours through Cognitive Built Environment (CBE) components; 2) use human-environment interaction models and related Key Performance Indicators to detect critical situations; 3) adapt CBE devices status to inform users on how to properly behave. This approach is applied to safety performances of outdoor (earthquake) and indoor (fire) scenarios, by proposing and testing solutions to support evacuees while reaching safe areas and rescuers’ support.

  • Effects of the digital transformation on the contemporary city project

    Abstract

     

    According to many sociologists and technologists today we live in the midst of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The research aims to investigate this paradigm shift that is taking place in the contemporary city to understand how urban design is facing this digital transformation. Starting from the technological and digital innovations that are pervading the field of architecture, engineering and urban planning, this study will also try to understand how these radical changes will affect citizens’ life.

  • An integrated system for façade additions combining safe, energy efficient and user- orientated solutions

    Abstract

     

    This research work, as part of the Horizon H2020 project, Pro-GET-onE (Horizon 2020 GA No. 723747), aims to demonstrate the attractiveness of a renovation strategy based on new façade additions that combine integrated technologies (GET) to achieve high standards in terms of socio-economic, energy and seismic performance. This document investigates, in particular, the possible transformation of the existing building envelope with external reinforcement structures, which generate energy-efficient buffer zones and at the same time increase the volume of the building.

  • The energetic characterization of solar-control environments

    Abstract

     

    Despite the increasingly pressing regulations in the energy sector (EPBD recast, law 90/2013 and the consequent decree 162 of 2015), which push towards policies and financial measures to promote buildings with almost zero energy, the quality of the internal environment remains one of the critical parameters on which to pay more attention in view of a consistent evaluation of the Nzeb building. The authors show, in the present paper, the results related to the energetic characterization of two test rooms, identical for surface and opaque envelope, but with different typologies of windows on the South-East and South-West wall.

  • Low-cost sensor network in cognitive buildings for maintenance optimisation

    Abstract

     

    Buildings cannot perform without a proper planning, execution and monitoring of Facility Management services. Moreover, occupancy monitor procedures for cognitive buildings are gaining momentum in performance optimization through dynamic adaption of indoor conditions (e.g. temperature, humidity, shadings). In this article, the application of a similar approach for automated execution of maintenance contracts (e.g. cleaning services) is presented. This approach is allowed by monitoring occupancy, through an ultrasonic sensor network. The methodology has been validated on a case study, concerning an office building in Milan, Italy.

  • From building to roads. Testing road embankment with construction and demolition materials

    Abstract

     

    The paper reports the results obtained during an experimental research conducted in real working conditions of road embankment made with C&DW. For this purpose an experimental road, 30 m long, 4 m wide and 4 m high was built, installing 12 instruments: 3 pressure cells to measure stresses and 9 Linear Variable Differential Transformers (LVDTs) to measure deformations. The data were collected under different load and traffic speed magnitude. At this point of the research data are being analysed and compared, and the results reported on this paper.

  • Building automation system to control natural ventilation in school buildings. The case study of “Michelangelo School” in Bari

    Abstract

     

    In school buildings high levels of Indoor Air Quality are required for the specific susceptibility to airborne pollution of occupants, but most of the data published in the scientific literature indicate that classroom ventilation in many schools is still inadequate. The low investment costs and the easy implementation of the Building Automation Systems allow a widely application in the existing buildings. This work studies the natural ventilation mechanisms based mainly on the stack effect of the central atrium and of the stairwells in order to design the building automation control systems.

  • Fire safety issues in high-rise building façades

    Abstract

     

    Many recent fire events demonstrate that the need of improving the technical knowledge and the practical procedures in the design of the façade systems to be used in high-rise buildings, especially for what concerns the fire vulnerability, is still very strong. Through the analysis of some case studies and examples, the paper highlights the need to investigate and solve these aspects, both in terms of detail design and materials choice, as well as through appropriate specific FSE (Fire Safety Engineering) analysis and laboratory tests.

  • Technological and performance issues in an intervention of retrofitting through greenery systems

    Abstract

     

    This research is aimed at evaluating the energy performance of an existing building in Mediterranean climate, and to assess the benefit coming from various retrofit solutions of the building envelope, such as green roof and facades. By means of dynamic simulations, validated with experimental results, the reduction in both internal air temperature and cooling load was estimated. In addition, the impact of the green shielding on the windows in terms of indoor visual comfort was assessed, and suitable soluitons were envisaged.

  • The new building cycle

    Editorial